Academic Affiliate, Nathan Associates Inc.; Professor of American Competitive Enterprise and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University

Education

For nearly 30 years, as a consulting expert, Professor Cohen has been hired by both plaintiff and defense counsel to testify in both state and federal court on a wide range of economic issues in complex class action litigation including class action certifications, liability, damages, and class action fairness hearings. Among the issues he has consulted and testified on are: racial disparity and markups in auto lending and mortgages, damages arising out of alleged consumer fraud from mislabeled products, victim harm in identity theft cases, damages in Fair Credit Reporting Act violations, and appropriate penalties in environmental enforcement cases. He has been hired as a consulting expert to both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice.

Mark A. Cohen is the Justin Potter Professor of American Competitive Enterprise and Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University. He is also a University Fellow at Resources for the Future. Professor Cohen has published nearly 100 peer reviewed articles, books, chapters, etc. on a wide range of topics. He is often called upon by government and research organizations to consult, lecture, and/or serve in advisory roles. Recent examples include the U.S. Department of Justice (on mortgage lending and auto lending discrimination), Federal Trade Commission (on predatory lending practices), U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (on the benefits of illegal behavior), and the General Accountability Office (on disclosure of environmental information in SEC filings). From 1998-2003, he served as Chairman of the American Statistical Association’s Committee on Law and Justice. He is a former staff economist at the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Protection Division working on consumer marketing and fraud cases. He is also an expert on damages and restitution in the case of alleged corporate wrongdoing, having been the expert economist who developed the background data and analysis leading up to the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Guidelines for organizations convicted of federal crimes. Professor Cohen received his Ph.D. in Economics from Carnegie-Mellon University.

As an expert on sustainability and corporate strategy, Professor Cohen has consulted with numerous global companies and government agencies, and currently serves on ExxonMobil’s External Citizenship Advisory Panel. He previously served as Vice President of Research at Resources for the Future.

Professor Cohen has taught MBA and law students at Vanderbilt since 1986, including courses such as “Economics of Organizations,” “Corporate Strategies for Environmental, Social and Governance Issues,” the Future of Energy Markets in a Low Carbon Economy,” and the “Law and Business of Climate Change.”

“Do Government Agencies Respond to Market Pressures? Evidence from Private Prisons.” (joint with James F. Blumstein and Suman Seth. Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law. 15(3): 446-77 (2008). (Working paper available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=441007).

“Empirical Research on the Deterrent Effect of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement,” Environmental Law Reporter, 30: 10245-52 (April 2000).

“Regulating Corporate Criminal Sanctions: Evidence on the Effect of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines,” (joint with Cindy R. Alexander and Jennifer Arlen), Journal of Law and Economics, 42: 393-42 (April 1999).